Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to get some comments on my website (URL at bottom of page).

Mostly I would like comments on additional pages you would recommend.

I plan on adding a document download section where people can download reports and such.

Thanks in advance!

Evan

It's nice to see a real estate web site that does not look like all of the other cookie cutter web sites out there. Nice job.

I took a brief look at your home page and HTML and I would suggest a few changes off the bat:

1. Put your CSS in an external file. It will cut down on your file sizes and bring the meaty content closer to the top of the pages for the SE's. Also, if you ever want or need to make style changes you edit just one file instead of having to change all of your pages.

2. Add the proper DOCTYPE declaration to your pages and then validate your HTML.

3. Add a robots.txt file to your site to keep spiders out of any private directories that you might have (like your registered guest sections). I have also know that SE's like Yahoo are placing greater emphasis on sites having a robots.txt file. What emphasis? I don't know. But I was told this by a Yahoo tech.

3. Add a site map to allow both search engines and visitors to quickly find pages on your site.

I'm not a big fan of javascript, but most SE's are finally getting better at navigating javascript.

I like the fact that you lead with a listing on your site - that's an effective marketing technique.

I don't see a link anywhere to view other listings, so I will assume that is your only listing at this time. You may still want to add that navigation now - it will save you design time in the future.

Another thing that I do not see are complete MLS listings, although you mention the MLS.

If you are requiring people to register before they can view any of your listings or the MLS I strongly encourage you to reconsider this tactic. You will discourage people from using your web site and you will spend a lot of time weeding out the junk information in your database. With the right ad copy and online sales presentation people will contact you if they are truly interested in your homes and services.

Thank you for your replies!

Check out the top left under 'BuyingDenver.com'

'Our Listings' features our listings.
'FREE MLS Access' is where people can get the MLS

That is a good observation though, I may need to make those a bit more flashy or highlighted so people see those right away. Maybe have 'FREE MLS Access' in a different color?

I do not make people register to access the MLS. If they want to recieve email updates or save searches, they must register (I am not a big fan of registration just to look at homes either- I would much rather them get used to coming to the site than turn them away)

Thanks again for the review!

-Evan

You're right - I did not see them. That may mean others will miss them as well. Or it may mean I'm a dufus.

Try using #F8AC28 or #C00000 as the main color for that text with perhaps a black or dark grey drop shadow and see how it looks.

I pulled up your site again to see where my eyes naturally focused on the page. First was your small flash animation, and second is your featured listing - that's excellent.

What threw me off was after looking at your featured listing I instinctively looked for a menu and was drawn to your sub menu on the right side of the page, not your main menu at the top of the screen.

What does everyone else think?

Good observation- Maybe I should add buttons on the right that correspond with the main menu links?

I guess you could say the site is 'template based' but I can add buttons and create pages on the fly.

There are a few questions I have about the site, one is about the links page. I am starting to learn a little about SEO and have read that the more relevant links in and out help out your page rank. On that same note- I have heard that some template based sites arent the best for link exchange- would you have any input on this?

Thanks for your observations and help thus far!

I'm the wrong person to give an objective answer to this question - one of my companies specializes in real estate SEO and design.

I can confirm that you do need relevant links both to and from your web site. Beware though, linking is not as easy as you might think. It takes a long time to build links. We look at 10 key factors before placing or exchanging links with another web site.

Template sites - like any other site - are hit and miss for SEO. You have to study SEO and design, then determine if the template will meet your needs or if you need to make changes. I didn't take a hard look at your site, but an example would be my earlier suggestion to place your CSS in an external file.

As far as your menu goes, I would replace the main menu at the top of the page with your address and then a small picture of yourself. You should keep all of your "strategic" menu items in a single location consistent throughout the web site.

Until a while ago I was against placing an agent photo prominently in the header of a web site. However, I have another client in the publishing industry that made a very, very convincing argument to the contrary. He indicated that web surfers were more apt to make a "bond" with the agent - and more likely to make contact - if there was a photo in the header.

Thanks for the input- will have to talk to the designers and see what changes they can make.